Survive or Die the Everglades
by Piper'stemper
Summary: The sisters are once again at the mercy of mother nature and all its inhabitants as the Amazon did not serve its purpose of reconnecting them. They now must survive the Everglades, the swamp. I plan on having a movie trailer done for this soon.
1. Chapter 1

A/N:

Summery:

The sisters are once again at the mercy of mother nature and all its inhabitants as the Amazon did not serve its purpose of reconnecting them. They now must survive the Everglades, the swamp.

I plan on having a movie trailer done for this soon.

Chapter 1

Survive or Die

the Everglades

Day one

"What the hell?" Piper asks as she looked around and was no longer in her living room relaxing with her morning coffee. She was now standing waist deep in stagnant water that had a green film on it. She looked up and could see the sun piercing through the thin treetops and when she looked back down, Paige was standing across from her as Prue and Phoebe also appeared with the same look on their faces.

"Oh no," Paige said as she remembered this situation a year earlier.

A Elder orbed in the center of them and was hovering just above the water and he got looks of exasperation and rolled eyes.

"You have to be kidding me," Prue said and when she tried to put her hands on her hips she stopped the moment she felt the water.

"Ok I'm starting to think you guys are sadistic," Phoebe said as she kept looking at the water for any movement other than her own.

"You have not connected, we gave you time in hopes you would but you did not," he said and Piper could not stand the fact that he was staying clean and tried to use her power to blast some of the murky water on him. When nothing happened she folded her arms knowing that her powers were removed.

"Is this how you get your jollies off, by taken us away from our lives and sending us to god knows where?" Piper asks.

"I assure you that if I had jollies this is not how I would _get them off_," he replied

Paige looked slightly puzzled as Leo was a Elder when he got Piper pregnant with Chris, but she was too pissed off to put much thought into it. "Take us home now!" Paige demanded.

"Prue was possessed for two days before anyone noticed, Phoebe was taken by a demon and was gone for 24 hours before you realized she was missing, Piper was put under a spell that almost caused her to bind Wyatt's powers and Paige you did not sense something was wrong, none of you did," he said.

"We figured it out eventually," Paige said but could not shake the feeling that he was right.

"I know that you have lives outside of each other and your charmed duties, but it is imperative that you know when one of you is hurt, possessed or under a spell. Your connection with each other is how you stay alive, its how you know when someone needs help."

"So let me guess another family outing," Piper said.

"Yes," he replied.

"We could just go shopping," Paige suggested.

"You are missing the point entirely and apparently you missed it the first time or you would not be here again," he said with a stern expression.

"Are we in the Everglades?" Prue asks while looking around at her surroundings.

"Yes, its challenges are different than the Amazon and because of that you will have access to one heal per person, I suggest you use it wisely. There are also other beacons, a blue one that is medical equipment, a green one for blankets and food and a red one," he replied.

"What's the red one for?" Phoebe asks.

"Its a get out of jail free card, but only one can take it leaving the others and of course the white beacon that will take you home, or you find civilization," he replied and machetes materialized on each one of them as well as a water bottle.

"So we can only see these beacons at night?" Piper asks while wanting desperately to use the machete on him.

"Yes, they will be high in the sky but that is just a marker. The actual beacon will be ground-level," he replied.

"When this is over I'm going to find a way to just dump you guys somewhere," Piper said but all she got was a small smile in return.

"I suggest you find dry-land and welcome to the swamp," he said and orbed away.

"Is it me or does this water smell?" Paige asks while wrinkling her nose.

"Nope it smells," Phoebe replied.

Prue began to look for any signs of dry-land but all she could see water in all directions and tall trees that had its branches high.

"So besides alligators and poisonous snakes, what else is there to avoid?" Piper asks.

"Everything," Paige replied.

"Paige can we be serious for a moment," Phoebe said and took a step. The ground beneath her was muddy and she could feel branches and all kinds of debris as she tried to move through the water.

"I am but on the bright side taking a survival course was not a bad idea after all," Paige said as she saw a dead twig moving past her slowly.

"Wait you took a survival course?" Piper asks.

"Yeah Phoebe and I did. It was just for a week and it was in a state park for the most part but we had to survive off the land and our guide was cute," Paige replied as Piper was still a little shocked that she did not know about their little adventure.

"Why didn't you ask me to go?"

"Would you have gone?" Phoebe asks pretty much knowing the answer.

"No but that's not the point," Piper replied and looked at Prue who was avoiding eye contact. "Did you know about this?'

"Yes," Prue replied while swatting mosquitoes.

"Did you go too?"

"Hell no, after my experience with the Amazon I'm not really fond of the environment," Prue replied," Ok we need to get moving because I am being eaten alive here."

"Wait I have a idea," Paige said and went over to a tree that had some small branches she could get too. She used her machete to cut one off that was about 4 feet long. She then plunged it into the murky water. It stuck up leaving about 2 feet exposed and she took her empty water bottle and tied it around the stick. "Ok this water is moving, it may be slow as molasses but it is moving."

"How is that going to help us?" Prue asks.

"Well from what I remember water always moves south, so at least we can pick a direction. West or East and hopefully keep us from walking in circles," Paige replied as the bottles seem to be motionless but then started to move extremely slowly.

"How do you know that?" Piper asks.

"We learned it at the survival camp," Phoebe replied.

"It looks like south is that way," Piper said as she pointed in the direction the bottle was moving towards.

"We need to give it 45 minutes to know for sure," Paige said.

"Why is it going to get cramps?" Piper asks.

"I guess we just found out who the smart-ass of the swamp is," Paige replied while raising an eyebrow.

"So we just stand here for 45 minutes?" Prue asks.

"No we need to find a long stick, something we can use to give us some defense against an alligator," Phoebe replied.

"Look for bubbles," Piper said and everyone looked at her. "What I know a few things here and there, thank you very much," she continued and began to look for something to use. Walking through the water was difficult as occasionally her feet would get stuck on roots that were entangled on the bottom.

"Why do we have to worry about bubbles?" Prue asks.

"It means there's an alligator beneath the surface or just swamp gas," Paige replied as she too began to look for another stick to use.

"This place already..."

"Phoebe!" Prue yelled as her sister disappeared under the surface of the water. Piper turned around to see Prue rushing to where Phoebe was standing.

"Oh god, oh god," Piper said with panicked breaths as she thought the worst has just happened. She knows more than anyone what it feels like to be attacked by something in the water. She could see disturbance just beneath the waterline and Prue plunged her arms into the water up to her shoulders and could feel flesh. "Prue what's happening?"

"I think she fell into a hole!" Prue replied and began to pull up as Phoebe's fingernails were beginning to dig in into Prue's arms.

"Pull her up!" Paige yelled while struggling to get there as well. She was tripping over the debris and trying not to break an ankle.

"Dammit come on Phoebe!" Prue yelled as she pulled harder and finally felt some release as her younger sister emerged.

"Thank god," Piper said as she helped Prue pull her away from where she was.

Phoebe was taking in deep breaths as her body shook from the shock. There was no dry ground so they had to hold her up so she would not fall back into the water.

"Phoebe can you hear me?" Piper asks while putting her hands to her sisters face and forcing her eyes to look at her. She could see the terror in them as her chest moved in and out quickly. "Phoebe answer me."

"Sucks," she replied between the taking in of oxygen and finished her earlier sentence. Piper laughed weakly as her nerves were beginning to calm.

"Are you ok?" Paige asks while helping Prue hold her up.

"I think so, it just scare the crap out of me," Phoebe replied as she planted her feet firmly on the muddy bottom.

"Ok new rule, we need to watch where we step," Prue said as she too was beginning to calm herself down.

"It was like a tangled web down there, once I fell everything in the world wraped itself around me and I could not even tell which way was up or get free," Phoebe as she moved the hair out of her face.

"Are you sure you're not hurt?" Piper asks while checking over the parts that she could see.

"Yeah I'm ok," Phoebe said and then slapped Piper's hands, "Stop it, it feels like you're trying to frisk me."

Piper stopped her excessive checking and slapped Phoebe on the arm," Yeah you know what that feels like," Piper said and smiled wide while reminding Phoebe of her shoplifting days.

"I think something just swam between my legs and not in a good way," Paige said as she tried to stay perfectly still.

"We can't stand here for 45 minutes," Piper said as she was getting restless.

"Fine then I think we need to pick a direction opposite of the water bottle," Paige said and grabbed the stick while untying the string that held it.

"West, I think we should go west," Prue said.

"To the Beacon," Paige said and took the lead while using her stick to check for holes.

"We can't see it right now," Piper said as she began to walk behind her.

"I know but I am trying to keep a positive outlook," Paige said.

"What is it with whitelighter's?" Prue said and began to walk with Phoebe next to her.

The tall trees towered over them as the roots were either trying to escape the desolate water or take it over. Each step was like wading through concrete as their feet would get entangled in the foliage beneath and almost causing them to go face first into the murkiness. They were in the unknown and a hostile environment once again. Although this time they have some experience the Everglades is a world of its own with creatures that seem prehistoric and they were now intruders upon ancient lands. They were without their powers, without their potions or spells. But they were the Halliwell's and if the creatures of the swamp think they are an easy meal, they will be wrong.

To be continued.


	2. In the smallest of things

A/N:

Thank you for the reviews.

Julie: Yeah they should be fine, lol that was funny what you said, thanks for the review.

Chapter 2

In the smallest of things

The sisters have been walking for hours and every part of their body was either aching or covered in mosquito bites.

"Why does this look familiar?" Piper asks as all of it was beginning to blend into each other.

"We are probably just going in circles," Paige replied.

"Prue what do you think?" Piper asks but did not get a reply and she turned around and hope nothing ate her while they were walking. She saw her a few feet behind them just standing there biting her lower lip. "Prue what are you doing?" she asks and her oldest sister of avoided eye contact.

"Are you peeing?" Paige asks while wrinkling her face.

"That would explain the slight warming sensation I just got," Phoebe said.

"Well what am I supposed to do, go in a tree?" Prue asks a little embarrassed.

"No you hold it," Piper replied.

"Stop looking at me, I can't finish if you are looking at me," Prue said and Piper sighed heavily while turning around.

"You know she used to do that in the public pool," Phoebe said as she turned around as well.

"Henry Junior does it in the bathtub, I swear the minute water gets around him, he is like a urinating factory," Paige said referring to her four-year-old.

"Does he get that from his father?" Phoebe asks as Prue made her way back up to them.

"God I hope not," Paige replied.

"Ok lets go," Prue said and got in front of them.

"You know something could have crawled up there you know," Phoebe said.

"That's in the Amazon," Prue said and stopped.

"What?" Piper asks as any sudden stops were usually an indicator of something in front of them.

"It's getting late and we need to find someplace to sleep and start a fire," Prue replied as they looked around. They were standing in waist high water with no dry-land in site.

"Um how exactly are we going to do that?" Paige asks.

"Don't look at me, you guys are the survival experts," Prue said while looking at her two youngest sisters.

"In California Prue not the swamp," Phoebe reminded her.

"Can it be someplace away from the mosquitoes?" Piper said while itching her neck.

Paige began to take in her surroundings and look at the trees that they may be able to take refuge in for the night. She noticed some kind of green moss hanging off of a few. "I think I found a starter and we will need to make some kind of platform so we can put the fire on some mud that will keep it from burning through it," Paige said.

"Ok lets try to get some branches together and mud shouldn't be a problem considering it's in abundance under our feet," Prue said and they split up a little to find some branches.

Piper and Phoebe went together to one side as Paige and Prue went the other way. They pulled out their machetes and began hacking away at any suitable material that they could reach.

"Phoebe be careful were you grab ok," Piper said as poisonous snakes could be hiding anywhere.

"What kind of poisonous things are here anyway?" Phoebe asks as she cut down a branch.

"The cottonmouth or water moccasin for starters," Piper replied.

"Oh good its a water moccasin because were not standing in a lot of water right now," Phoebe said.

"And the Eastern diamondback, but on the bright side it rattles so we should hear it before it kills us," Piper said as Paige came over to them with some branches.

"The Burmese python but its not native," Paige added.

"You and pythons don't get along," Piper said as she felt a sting on her arm. She immediately looked at it thinking she just got bit by something they just mentioned but when the bee flew away, her concerns did not diminish.

"Piper you ok?" Paige asks nervously.

"Um not really," Piper replied and leaned against a tree she was cutting branches from.

"What – what happened?" Phoebe asks coming over to her.

"All the things that could have got me and its a dam bee," Piper replied while trying to keep herself calm.

"Shit," Phoebe said under her breath.

"Guys we need to move a little quicker then this," Prue said as she walked over to them.

"Prue Piper got stung by a bee," Phoebe said while running her wet hands through her already soaked hair.

"We need to call them," Prue said as Piper was allergic to bees.

"Nope," Piper said defiantly.

"You cannot be that stubborn?" Prue asks as she looked at her arm that was already swelling where the sting took place.

"The hell I can't," Piper replied as she could feel the area around it get tighter.

"Maybe we can make it to the medical beacon?" Paige suggested.

"Which we can't see until nightfall and that is a few hours away," Prue replied as that that was not an option.

"Honey we don't have a choice," Phoebe said as she tried to pace but the water made it extremely difficult.

"Let's just give it a few minutes maybe they're not as bad here," Piper said and gave a weak smile.

"Hay we need a heal!" Prue yelled as she could see Piper starting to struggle a little with breathing.

"Prue," Piper said as she hated the Elders and most of all hated asking for help from them.

A elder orbed in and was just above the water line. "Yes," he said.

"Piper needs to be healed," Paige said and held up Piper's arm.

"I see, I will give you a choice, either the shot that will not count towards your one heal or I do the other that will."

"Heal please," Prue said as Piper was leaning heavily on Prue and was about to pass out.

"No shot," Piper struggled to get out.

The elder opened his hand and there was a syringe in it. Phoebe took it out and opened a small package as Piper was gasping.

"Here give me your arm," Phoebe said and Piper ready herself for the shot. She felt the quick sting and then a warming in her arm. "There are you ok?"

"It will take a minute Pheebes," Prue said as the elder orbed away.

"Ass," Piper said through her teeth.

"Paige help me finish up the platform, Phoebe you need to keep Piper awake until we are done," Prue said and Piper was beginning to feel nauseous.

Paige went with her oldest sister as Phoebe leaned Piper against the tree.

"I don't understand she's had the shot, shouldn't she be okay?" Paige asks while Prue found a tree that would support all four of them and had low large branches that almost made a saucer pattern.

"No technically we are supposed to take her to the hospital even after the shot," Prue replied and used some vine she found earlier to start tying the branches as she stretched them a crossed the tree.

Paige looked back over to where Phoebe was rubbing Piper's back and wish she would have waited a little longer to check on her. Piper vomited into the dark water as Phoebe held up her hair. "Ewe, maybe we should call him back and have him do the heal?"

"If she gets any worse I will," Prue said but if the shot did its job then they could save the heal for later if it was needed.

Piper began to feel slightly better after throwing up but she was still dizzy and weak. All she wanted to do was sleep and get out of the damn water. It took Paige and Prue almost an hour and a half to finish the platform and the sun was setting quickly. Paige reached down reluctantly and began to pull some mud up with her hands that had all kinds of debris and even some creepy crawlies mixed in. Nothing was poisonous from what she could tell but it made her skin crawl. Phoebe helped Piper over to the disturbing treehouse and Prue helped get her up to the platform. Paige finished making the mud barrier that would protect the fire and them during the night.

"Going to need a lot of firewood," Prue said as Phoebe got up with Piper and made her lay down on her back with her knees up.

"Piper just try to relax ok," Phoebe said while holding her hand.

"Your right, this place sucks," Piper's voice was barely audible as her eyes closed.

Paige and Prue gathered as much wood as they could that was not soaked and climbed up to the platform while Phoebe checked her pockets and found the striker that she has used before. The moss was extremely dry and the sparks caused it to go into flame quickly.

"This stuff is great," Phoebe said as she never had a easier time lighting a fire in her life. Once the mud was dry enough, she moved the fire from where she started it and put it on the dried mud.

"We know the routine, so who is first?" Prue asks as she tried to get comfortable but it was tight quarters and the branches were not compatible soft with skin.

"I will," Phoebe said as she was a night owl to begin with.

"We need to boil some water," Paige said and then leaned down over the platform to fill her canteen which was not going very well because of all the debris that flowed into it.

"Here," Prue said and took off her shirt," you need to filter it first," she said and handed it to Paige.

"Will it filter the sweat," Paige said as she took it out of her hands.

"Just use it," Prue said and smiled a little.

Paige filled all the canteens and put them near the fire to boil so they would have clean drinking water in the morning and needed to give some to Piper as she was already dehydrated.

"Look," Prue said as the beacons came into view in the night sky.

"They're scattered in all directions, god forbid they put them close to each other," Paige said as one was West, one was South. The other two were North and East.

"We need a way of marking them and then we can make a decision in the morning which one we want to go for," Prue said and Phoebe used her striker to mark the tree they were in and used W for white and did the same with the others.

"Ok its done," Phoebe said and went back to Piper who was already asleep but her chest moved in and out to rough for their liking.

"Keep an eye on her Phoebe," Prue said while laying down on her side.

"I will," Phoebe said and put Piper's head on her lap to make her more comfortable. Piper's right arm was still slightly swollen but the shot should keep her from going into shock.

They were soaked, mosquito bitten, hungry and already had their second close call and this was just day one. The beacons look far in the distance and it was impossible to get any kind of bearing of how long it would take to get to any of them. She was already missing her children and her husband and definitely her comfy bed. She did hear odd noises as the creatures of the night started their hunt. Some she could recognize as owls, crickets and frogs but others were alien. Occasionally she could hear something large swim underneath them and she was thankful to be out of the water as it was probably a large alligator. It was impossible to see past the fire as even the flames did not want to shine as brightly in this dark place.

To be continued...


	3. Day two: first heal

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews.

Chapter 3

Day two: first heal

"Fuzzy boots!" Piper said as she sat up startling everyone.

"Um Piper are you ok?" Phoebe asks while her older sister was blinking slowly.

"Yeah where are we?" Piper replied as Paige came over to her.

"You don't remember?" Paige asks as Piper looked around. Then it all undesirably came back.

"Oh the Everglades right," Piper replied and squinted her eyes looking at her baby sister's neck. "Um Paige I don't want to alarm you."

"First just saying the words I don't want to alarm you is already alarming, What?" Paige asks nervously staying perfectly still.

"I think you have a leech on your neck," Piper replied and Paige put her hand to the left side of her neck and felt something slimy and about the size of a lighter.

"Ok don't panic," she said but her voice was very betraying as it cracked.

"Oh god I do too," Phoebe said while looking under her shirt. "Apparently they are male," she said through her teeth as they seem to be resting comfortably on her bosom.

"Don't pull them off, we need to use the fire to make them let go," Prue said and grabbed a smoldering stick that had a hot tip and placed it on the leech on her arm. The sound of crackling was heard as the little slimy bloodsucker squirmed and fell off. Prue shook her body a little trying to get the heebie-jeebies out of her system. "Here we need to get undressed and get them off of each other," she said but everyone was hesitant about disrobing in the middle of nowhere. "Oh for gods sake are you worried about the wildlife getting a free show?"

"No just you guys," Piper replied as Paige was the first to get down to her bra and undies.

"Me first I hate these things," Paige said and Prue used the stick to get at least five of them off.

"If they are in any places I can't see, you're on your own," Prue said and handed the stick to Paige. After she looked at herself thoroughly, she grabbed another stick that had a hot tip while Phoebe was checking herself over.

"Piper I can help you," Prue said as her younger sister still seem to be a little out of it.

"I can undressed myself just fine, thank you," Piper said and took off her shirt. Prue used the stick to get off the numerous leeches that apparently made their home on their bodies last night.

The all put their clothes back on that were dried and muddy after checking them for any other unwanted inhabitants. They drank the clean water that they let boil the night before but their stomachs were feeling the effects of going to bed without substance.

"First we need to find something to eat," Prue said as she stretched out her body.

"Why is it that things have no trouble finding as to feed off of, but when it comes to finding them there so elusive," Paige said.

"I probably could have caught something last night considering the amount of movement there was under our tree house," Phoebe said and finished getting dressed.

"Are there fish in this water?" Piper asks while checking her arm that was stung by the bee. It was back to its normal size but was still slightly sore.

"I don't know if I want to eat anything that comes out of this water," Prue replied as she walked over to Piper. "You ok?"

"Yeah just a little weak," Piper replied.

"Maybe we could get to the beacon that has food and supplies," Phoebe suggested as she looked at the markings she made last night.

"Which is in the opposite direction of the white beacon," Prue said.

"So we could stock up and then go for the white one," Paige said.

"Piper what do you think?" Prue asks as all eyes were on the middle sister.

"Oh don't make me tiebreaker," Piper replied.

"Piper," Phoebe said as she began to look slightly impatient.

"Fine I think it would be a good idea to stock up, we have no idea where dryland is or how long it would take to get the white beacon," Piper broke the tie and Prue shook her head slightly in disappointment.

"The green beacon it is, but that also means were going to be here longer," Prue said and made her way down the platform and back into the murky slightly cold water.

"It's that way," Phoebe said as she looked at the marking she made and pointed West.

"By the way what does fuzzy boots mean?" Paige asks.

"What?" Piper asks while getting off the platform.

"It was a stuffed animal she had when she was a kid," Phoebe replied for her.

"Oh," Paige said and they began to make their way West.

Hours passed as the scenery blended into each other and it was almost impossible to tell if they were on the right track or not. They were in single line with Prue in front as they came to a abrupt stop, causing the person behind her to bump into her and the others to bump into each other. "Hay no tailgating," Piper said as Phoebe moved away from her a little. "Prue what is it?" she asks nervously.

"Land I think," Prue said and began to walk forward quickly.

"Oh thank god," Piper said while keeping pace. The moment their feet exited the murkiness they all went to their knees as exhaustion and the exchange between water and land made their legs feel much lighter.

"I could kiss it but its disgusting, oh screw it," Phoebe said and began to kiss the ground," I love you, I love you," she said until she felt a sharp pain on her nose and stood up quickly to see something hanging off the tip. "Get it off, its going to impregnate me!" she yelled as the others try to keep their laughter quiet while Piper walked over and took off the crawdad.

"Phoebe calm down its just a crawdad," Piper said while Phoebe was rubbing her nose and a little blood escaped.

"I hate you," she said to the little crustacean that was not happy in Piper's hands.

"Lunch," Paige said but the size of it was not enough to feed one person let alone four.

"You know I'm a vegetarian," Phoebe said and got sharp looks from everyone.

"Your eat what ever we find missy," Prue said and just as Piper turned to help Prue stand, she was pulled violently away from her.

"Prue!" Piper yelled as her older sister disappeared under the water. "Shit, shit," Piper yelled and pulled out her machete while the others did the same. Prue could feel something bite hard down on her leg and even felt bone crack as she held her breath, letting out precious air mixed with screams. She was being twisted around like a rag doll and was hitting the bottom repeatedly. She could hear muffled yells from her sisters but could no longer hold her breath and let the swamp into her lungs. Piper was hacking away at something quite large that was twisting quickly. She could tell it was a alligator and a big one. She was afraid of hitting Prue with the machete.

"Oh my god, oh my god," Phoebe cried out as she grabbed Prue by the arms and pulled with all her might to get her free. Paige was hacking away as well and finally the alligator gave up its price and quickly swam off to deeper water. Phoebe no longer felt friction and pulled Prue to the surface and back to land.

"Prue!" Piper yelled as her and Paige rushed out of the water. Prue was not breathing and missing her leg from the thigh down. Blood was soaking the ground beneath her and Paige took off her belt and tied it around her upper thigh to stop the bleeding as Phoebe performed CPR.

"Hay we need a heal now!" Piper yelled while looking up.

Prue began to cough out the murky water and knew something was terribly wrong as her sisters were in complete panic. She could not move her right leg and began to feel the shock as her body trembled. The elder orb in and actually looked horrified as he bent down and started healing.

"Is this good enough for you," Piper said through her teeth. "Is this what you want, for us to get ripped apart."

He did not look up as he put all his focus on healing and slowly Prue's leg began to grow back. She screamed as tissue, bone and muscle were becoming one again. Paige held her hand while Phoebe held the other until finally her body was whole again. The elder stood up slightly shocked himself and quickly got his composure back. Piper was not satisfied with him say nothing and pulled out her machete and rushed him. He quickly put his hand out and the small electrical stream of lightning came from his fingertips. It hit her in the shoulder, knocking her to the ground but did not cause any damage. Phoebe immediately ran to Piper as she was afraid that her extremely irate sister would attempt it again.

"Piper don't," she whispered as she helped her up.

"What is wrong with you, how could you let this happen?" Piper demanded while Phoebe continued to keep herself between the elder and a very adrenaline driven sister.

"I'm sorry this happened but this is the Everglades and you need to be more careful," he said and orbed away.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed," Phoebe said harshly to Piper as she walked over to Prue." Are you ok?"

Prue did not reply right away as her body still was shaking slightly," I don't know yet," she replied. Paige gave her some water as they all moved quickly away from the water's edge and set down on a fallen tree. In all their years of being witches they've never lost a ligament, even in the Amazon they managed to keep them intact.

"Prue honey are you ok?" Piper asks.

"Yeah just a little freaked out, it happened so fast I didn't have time to react, even if I had my powers I don't think I could have done anything," Prue replied and ran her shaking hand over her wet head.

"That thing must have been 12 feet long or more," Paige said remembering the size.

"Great that was my first and only heal," Prue said.

"Were you hoping to save it for something else?" Phoebe asks and they all smiled a little.

"At least we are out of the water," Piper said as she looked into the plethora of trees in front of them.

"Too bad we couldn't kill it, it would have made a nice dinner," Paige said while her stomach growled.

They all decided to move as far away from the water as possible and start a fire. Phoebe took up the job of gathering the necessary essentials as the sun was lowering and kissing the horizon. Piper found a few frogs and began gotting them as she was going to turn them into soup to get more out of the small catch. Prue was trying to help as much as she could, but her body was still aching from the encounter with the alligator. Paige helped Phoebe get the fire started and they all used the small metal cup that came with their canteen to drink down water mixed with frog parts soup. They were going to have to spend another night in the Everglades and were already filling quite discouraged as the beacon glowed high in the sky and was definitely miles away. They huddled together near the fire for warmth and protection but it was too late to build any kind of platform to get off the ground. One would stay awake and they would do the switch periodically through the night.

To be continued...


	4. Caught between fangs and a sister

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews.

Chapter 4

Caught between fangs and a sister

The stifling heat was causing their clothing to stick to them in very uncomfortable ways as they walked forward hoping they were still going straight. Land was a welcome change but also came with unwelcome dangers. Snakes that hide out of site could be frightened enough to attack or the recluse spider that could land on them from a web they accidentally walked into. Prue stopped and walked over to a tree that had disturbing markings. There were definite claw prints gashed into the softwood and she put her hand to it.

"What the hell is that?" Piper asks.

"Black bear," Prue replied as it was twice the size of her hand.

"I didn't know there were bears in the Everglades," Phoebe said while she looked it over.

"It's okay as long as we stay out of its way, it should stay out of ours. We should make some noise as we walk so we don't startle one," Prue said and sat down on a log to rest for a moment.

"You ok?" Piper asks and sat down next to her.

"Just a little dehydrated, at least the water kept us cool," Prue replied.

Phoebe and Paige sat across from them and checked their canteens for water. "Here Prue I'm sure we will find more," Phoebe said and handed her what was left.

"Are you sure?" Prue asks before taking a drink.

"Yeah," Phoebe replied.

"How long do you think we've been walking?" Paige asks.

"Don't know but I have to say the elders keep us in shape," Piper replied.

"God I am so hungry," Paige said while rubbing her stomach.

"Why don't you guys set up camp, Paige and I will go hunting," Prue said and stood up, feeling slightly better after getting some needed water into her system. "Come on baby sister, let's go and get all Neanderthal on this places ass," she said and smiled.

"I like being evolved thank you," Paige said and stood up to follow her oldest sister.

"Don't get lost, I don't have the energy to come find you," Piper said.

"That's okay I don't have the energy to get lost," Paige said as they disappeared into the trees.

Piper and Phoebe began to set up camp a process that they have grown weary of.

"You know right now not that far from us, people are on rides and drinking overpriced pizza and eating cups of fruit," Phoebe said as Piper was making a place for a fire.

"Leo wanted to take the kids to Disney World next year," Piper said.

"It would be fun for them."

"I can tell you this for sure I am not walking around everywhere," Piper said and found some rocks to put in a circle.

"Oh honey you going to ride one of those scooters around?" Phoebe asks while cutting some branches down.

"You bet," Piper replied and they both laughed a little. Piper used the back of her hand to wipe her brow as sweat was getting into her eyes.

"Do you think Melinda is old enough?"

"She's only two but the boys are and they should remember, we can always go back," Piper replied and started to look around.

"What?"

"We're going to need a lot of firewood, so I will start getting it, if you want to figure out a way we can get off the ground," Piper replied and walked over where she saw some branches on the ground.

Phoebe contemplated her sister's request by looking any trees they could use to build on. She was taken out of her thought process when she heard the sound of a lot of twigs breaking and then a thud. She ran into the direction it came from and stopped at the edge of a hole. "Piper are you ok?"

"Yes," she replied through her teeth as she stood up and wiped her self off. She cringed slightly as she looked at her right hand finger that had a cut.

"Why did you fall into a hole?" she asks and Piper said nothing as she looked up at her sister," Well how the hell I am going to you out?"

"Phoebe are you going to scold me or help me?"

"You're not hurt right?"

"No why?"

"Then I am going to scold you," Phoebe replied as she put her hands on her hips.

"Phoebe," Piper said while tossing her hands in the air.

"Fine but I'm going to need a rope, and it's not like I can go to the local hardware store and pick one up," Phoebe said and started to look around for something she could use as vine.

"Hurry it up I don't want to hear from Prue and Paige when they get back," Piper said and tried to look for a way out. "This place sucks," she whispered and lowered her head as there seemed to be no way to ascend.

Phoebe found a tree that the bark pulled off easily and began to tie it into a rope.

Paige and Prue were moving slowly and quietly as they approached a opossum that was feeding on some plants. Prue pulled out her machete as Paige made some distance between her and her sister in case it ran off, she might be able to trap it. Prue had to make a decision to either rush it or toss her machete at it. Either way was a risk and she decided to test her aim. She tossed the machete at the unknowing opossum but it missed but thankfully ran in the direction that Paige was standing. It tried to turn but she managed to plunge her machete right down its back.

"Nice," Prue said as Paige wrinkled her nose.

"Are these any good to eat?" Paige asks while pulling out her weapon.

"Don't know, but if anyone can make it halfway decent, its Piper," Prue said and found a long branch. "Here we need to tie it to this because I really don't want to carry it."

Back at camp Phoebe was finishing up the makeshift rope as Piper was becoming more impatient and started to pace the small space in a circle. "Phoebe!" she yelled.

"I'm coming, just give me a minute!" Phoebe yelled back as she took the rope and wrapped it around her forearm in a loop. She looked for something to tie it to and found a tree not that far from the hole. Piper could see some roots coming out of the loose soil and decided to attempt the climb. She put her hands on the root and cringed as her sore finger clashed with dirt. She looked down at her feet and realized she was standing on more roots that were beginning to crack under her weight. She grabbed hold of the roots tighter as the floor beneath her gave way to a much deeper hole. She was now hanging on for dear life. "Phoebe I need the rope now!"

Phoebe ran over to her and looked down. "Piper what the hell happened?" she asks seeing the floor gave way to darkness.

"Does it really matter," Piper replied as her fingers stung.

Phoebe did not reply and took the makeshift rope over to the tree she was going to use earlier. She tossed it around the trunk and tied one end to the other. She was just about to take the other end to Piper when she heard the sound she has only heard in movies or the Discovery Channel. She looked to her right and there was a rattlesnake staring back at her. Any movement would cause it to strike.

"Phoebe I am losing my grip!" Piper yelled from the hole and Phoebe gripped the rope tightly as she had to make a split decision. If she moved the snake would bite but if she did not then Piper would fall. She still had a heal remaining and decided to save her sister. She turned quickly on her heels and felt fangs bite into her lower Calf. It was a quick sharp pain and took her breath away but the poison would take time to work through her system. She crawl on all fours and got to the hole." Here take it!" she yelled and Piper grabbed the vine rope. The sap made it slippery and she tried to use her feet to help the process but the loose soil was just giving way. "Piper I really need you to climb," Phoebe said while trying to pull her up. Her adrenaline was flowing rapidly and she could feel the effects of the snakes poisoned on her body.

"What the hell do you think I am doing, Pull up," Piper yelled back and did not know what transpired above her. Phoebe's heart was pounding and she was starting to get dizzy. She planted the heels of her shoes into the dirt and pulled with all her might as the snake was slithering past her. She had to remain still as it just sat there looking at her, not sure what to make of this.

"Piper please I can't hold this much longer," Phoebe pleaded as her stomach was about to empty. Piper decided to wrap the rope around her and under her arms. She held on with one hand to the roots and used the other one to tie it into a not using her teeth. The sap was bitter and she had to spit out what got into her mouth.

"Ok I am secure now," she said and began to use the roots and anything else protruding to clime. Phoebe no longer cared about the snake that she was already bitten and was not sure what to do as she stood up but did not make it very far. Her legs gave out and her breathing was becoming very rapid as she collapsed onto the dirt ground. She could no longer control her body and she began to convulse. Piper's hand pierced out of the whole and she grabbed the upper part of the rope. Her head emerged only to be faced with a venomous snake. She could feel her grip loosened as the vine was slipping in the palm of her hands and even causing cuts. "Phoebe there is a snake in my way," Piper said almost in a whisper, but she did not get a reply. "Fuck." she said as she lost her grip slightly and the sudden movement caused the snake to react. Piper could see its fangs extend and it seemed like everything slowed down as something metal came into her vision. Paige used her machete to cut off its head before it had a chance to strike.

"Thank you now could someone help me up?" Piper asks as Paige assisted her. Prue ran over to Phoebe who was still convulsing and even choking.

"Oh god," she said and put Phoebe's head on her lap. "Heal now!" she yelled as a elder orbed in. He bent down and healed her. Prue calmed herself down as her other two sisters joined her. Piper was exhausted and still was unclear of what occurred.

"Is she ok?" Piper asks.

"She got bit I think," Prue replied as Phoebe began to sit up and looked at Piper.

"Oh you're out of the hole," she said nonchalantly.

"Did you get bit while trying to save me?" Piper asks.

"Yeah luckily I still had a heal left," she replied and looked at the opossum that was tied to a stick. "Really couldn't find anything better?"

"Phoebe I don't know how to thank you," Piper said and hugged her.

"How about you find some fruit," Phoebe said and hugged her back while laughing a little.

"Piper your hand," Prue said noticing the small amount of blood.

"Its fine I just need to clean them off, oh and just a mental note, look out for sink holes," Piper said and leaned up against a tree to let her ligaments rest from the strain. She removed the remaining rope from under her arms and the need for water was more than ever.

"We have dinner but we do need water," Prue said and stood up.

"You and Phoebe rest, we will go get some and Piper when you are better, could you gut that thing?" Paige asks.

"Sure," Piper replied as Prue and Paige headed back out.

Paige and Prue came across a stagnant pool of water and filled their canteens as Piper got the opossum ready to eat. They boiled the water and finished up their shelter for the night as they all forced down the opossum. Piper used some of the water to clean her hands and used some of her shirt to wrap her finger.

It was going to be a long night again but at least their stomachs were full and they were all still alive. Piper hated the fact that Phoebe used her heal in order to save her but what was done was done.

To be continued...


	5. Humor before the storm

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews.

Julie: They are in the Pinelands for now but will not be there for long. Thanks for the info on what is around in the way of food and animal life. I will be using it as the story progresses.

Chapter 5

Humor before the storm

Phoebe was the first to wake and her loud yawn woke everyone else up from the not so comparable slumber. It was hot as the sun was coming over the horizon and sweat was staining there clothing.

"When we get back, the elders are so paying for a chiropractor," she said and stretched her body feeling the muscles pulling and tug.

"Right like that's going to happen," Prue said as she smacked her lips together.

"This reminds me of when I used to sneak out when I was a teenager and sleep pretty much anywhere," Paige said while getting some water.

"You and Phoebe would have given grams a run for her money if you grew up with us," Piper chimed in and stood up.

"I was not that bad Piper," Phoebe made her attempts in diminishing her aggressions.

"You know now that I think about it, did you ever get grounded Piper?" Prue asks.

Piper thought about the question and could not recall ever being sent to her room without supper, but she was not about to admit she was that lame," Sure I did," Piper replied and began to fidget with her canteen.

"Oh my god you never got grounded did you?" Phoebe asks as she too was trying to remember any time she pissed off Grams.

"You know I had my rebellious stage," Piper replied while taking a drink of water and this created the opening that they all would have fun with.

"Did you stay out until 9:30," Prue asks while smiling.

"Get a b- on your test?" Phoebe continued the assault.

"Let a guy get to first base, oh Piper say it ant so?" Paige put the nail in the coffin as Piper just rolled her eyes.

"That's it just gang up on me, like I was not used to that in high school," Piper said in hopes to make them feel guilty but all they could do was laugh.

"Hay I have a question that has plagued me for years," Prue said and Piper squinted her eyes at her wondering what could possibly plagued her for years. "Remember when you had all those boy band posters in your room and then they were gone the next day, what happened there?" she asks and Piper's face began to blush and not because of the heat.

"Oh its something bad," Paige said as Piper only did that when she was embarrassed.

"Ok first we have to make an agreement, this never gets talked about outside of the swamp and second we never talk about it again," Piper said and now everyone was able to ignore the stifling heat, their growling stomachs as their curiosity was at its height.

"Man I wish I had popcorn right now," Phoebe said and sat down while crossing her legs to get good and comfortable.

"Agreed?" Piper asks and all of them nodded to accept the terms but she made Phoebe pinky swear. "Ok I was 13 and I was trying to learn how to roller skate."

"Was that a cool thing back then?" Paige asks.

"It's not really a cool thing now," Prue replied and Piper cleared her throat.

"Anyway I had to go to the bathroom and did not have time to take off the skates, so I haphazard rolled into the bathroom and did my business. Unfortunately when I stood up I lost control and ended up skating outside to the hallway," Piper said as she tried to avoid eye contact as she was remembering the memory. "On the way out I grabbed the wall and accidentally pulled down one of my posters. The rest is kind of a blur but I ended up on my back with the poster on top of me and my underwear below my ankles," she said and then closed her eyes tight as they all seem slightly confused about why her posters were gone.

"Ok what does that have to do with all the posters?" Prue asks.

"Grams found me tossing about and for some reason got this weird notion into her head that I was doing something else," Piper replied as all of them gasp while trying not to laugh, mostly because they did not want her to stop the story. "So she took down my posters and tossed them in the trash and then we had the dam talk," she finished and all of them broke out in laughter. Phoebe was on her back while holding her stomach and for the first time Paige snorted heavily as she was trying to get air.

"Wait even the Kermit poster?" Prue asks through tears.

"Yes clearly she thought I was into puppets," Piper replied as the laughter became more prominent. Paige managed to be able to breathe normally as she could not help but add fuel to the fire.

"Hi ho, I got to third base with Piper," Paige said doing her best impression of Kermit.

"I don't know what's more disturbing, the fact that you just said that or that you actually sound like Kermit," Piper said as she too was beginning to laugh quite hard.

"That's the funniest fucking thing I have ever heard," Phoebe said as she was still rolling side to side on the ground.

"Oh Piper we love you," Prue said and got up to hug her as they all needed to be cheered up.

"You know Piper we are in his neck of the woods, maybe you should give your come hither look," Phoebe said as they all got ready to move on.

"Hay if it brings him so I can kill him and eat his legs, I will give the best come hither look you have ever seen," Piper said.

"Black widows do that," Paige said out of the blue.

"What?" Prue asks.

"Mate then kill the male," she replied as they all began to walk forward. They walked for a few hours giggling and making jokes along the way at Piper's expense but the joking stopped when they came across more water. It wasn't that high only about angle deep but there were tree stumps sticking out of the ground that basically came to a spike and covered most of the surface.

"Ok guys we need to be really careful, I don't want to fall on one of these things," Prue said as she began to trudge through the water.

"So poisonous snakes, alligators and spiders are not enough, now we have the Temple of doom to worry about?" Piper said while trying to avoid the sharp remnants of ancient trees.

"Do you guys hear that?" Phoebe asks as she stopped and could hear something rustling in the trees in the distance.

"What?" Prue asks as all of them stopped moving and focused their ears on the noise.

"Whatever it is, it's coming hard and fast," Piper said and pulled out her machete along with the others.

They remain still is the noise got louder and could hear growling along with the loud thuds. Running was going to be a challenge not just because they were in ankle deep water, but the many obstacles that could kill them if they made one misstep. What emerged stunned them all as it came rushing right towards them. Paige had to dive out of the way as the large black bear barreled through the group and almost hit Phoebe dead on. All of them were now soaked as they had to move quickly out of the way of the black bear. They watched it run away into the trees and gathered what ever they dropped.

"What the hell was that about?" Prue asks.

"Your complaining, that thing could have killed any of us with one swipe," Phoebe replied as they heard some groaning a few feet from them. "Paige," Phoebe said and made a run to where her baby sister was. The moment she got there, she covered her mouth as one of the spikes impaled Paige in the upper leg. The others joined her and tried to keep Paige calm.

"Your ok," Prue said and cradled her head on her lap.

"Heal we need a heal now!" Piper yelled and the elder orbed in. "Well?"

"You need to take her off it first," he replied and Prue did not hesitate and pulled her leg up and off the 4 inch in diameter spike. Paige screamed bloody murder as blood tainted the water next to them. The elder used his heal and after a few anxious moments, Paige's leg was healed. He orbed away as they helped her stand.

"You ok?" Prue asks.

"No this place sucks," Paige replied as weakness from the ordeal was sinking in.

"Great we have all used a heal," Piper said.

"You haven't," Prue said.

"Oh right the shot," Piper said as she recalled taking a syringe and not the heal.

"Let's hope you don't need it," Phoebe added.

"Do you guys smell that?" Prue asks while looking around.

"Shit because I may have pooped myself," Phoebe replied.

"No smoke," Prue said and they all began to sniff the air.

"I do, wait that means people right?" Paige asks.

"That means civilization, or close to it," Piper said and they felt hopeful a and surge of energy as they ran in the direction of the smoke. They moved past the ankle high water, and were now on dry land and could move much quicker as they made a run to the maker of the smoke. The air got thick and a fog seemed to be moving in around them.

"Something's not right, this is way too much smoke for a small fire," Prue said as she came to a dead stop when she saw what was causing the smoke. "Run back to the water!" she yelled as flames made its appearance by flashing through the smoke.

"A forest fire are you kidding me," Piper said and they all made a run for it. The fire was moving extremely fast as the dryland was like cotton to a flame. The smoke became so dense that it was hard to see let alone breathe.

"Prue!" Phoebe yelled as a tree fell a few inches away from her and was engulfed in flames.

"Paige!" Piper yelled while covering her mouth with her shirt. Their eyes were stinging and watering badly while trying to get some distance between them and a raging inferno behind them.

"I think we know what the bear was running from," Paige said mostly to herself as everyone seemed to be separated and running in different directions. They were at least a half an hour away from the water when they came across the fire, so getting back without getting lost or ending up in the center of the inferno was a good chance. They continued to yell for each other but the noise of the fire and the crashing trees made it impossible to hear a response unless the person was close.

Prue had to dodge falling trees along with random balls of fire that came from the upper tree limbs as she ran. "They're all going to go to water," she said and hoped she would become their. But everyone was getting turned around and some were even heading more into the flame then out of it. Paige could see a small opening in the trees and made a dash as fire raced behind her. The next thing she knew, she was up to her chest in mud. The cold dampness gave a shock to her body, "Well at least I won't burn to death," she said somewhat jokingly until she tried to move. The more she did the more she sank deeper into it as it created suction and locked her into place. Then she recalled the Amazon and something familiar like this they ran into. But this time she did not have a long stick to use as leverage and any movement would just suck her deeper in. "Help!" she yelled as trees fell close to her. She was able to use the mud to put out the flames that got close, but she was stuck until her sister's founder or she managed to get free on her own. "Stay calm, just stay calm," she said and covered her head with mud to keep the flames from catching her on fire.

Piper could barely see a few inches in front of her face as the smoke became so thick that it affected her breathing badly. She went down on all fours to clear out her lungs. It seemed like she was surrounded by flames and just kept crawling hoping to hit water. She finally got to her feet and maneuvered around obstacles along the way. She had no idea how long she was running but her shoes finally hit water and she immediately began to look for her sisters. Visibility was only down to a few feet and just as she was fleeing the flames so were other animals. Alligators swam past her along with some pythons and water moccasins. She knew they were not interested in her, but she was still wary of moving around too much and was so focused on them that she did not notice the fallen tree behind her and stumbled over it. She hit her head on a protruding stump and was lucky she did not impale herself in the process. The hit was hard and blood was running down the side of her face, she managed to get out of the water and into a tree a few feet off the ground and was about to yell for a heal, when she lost consciousness.

Phoebe was completely lost as she just kept running. She too was having to dodge alligators and other animals that were fleeing the area and decided to follow them as they may know were to go. It was an odd thing to be running next to a 12 foot alligator that was moving faster than she believed they could. She prayed it did not feel like a snack on the way and stayed behind it for the most part. The smoke was clearing slightly but when she looked behind her she could still see the flames. "God let them be ok," she said as the site was frightening as any of them could be in serious trouble. All she could do was just run but had no idea what direction she was heading in.

Prue was doing the same as her sisters for the most part and had no choice but to keep moving as the flames were also keeping pace. She was stopped by a wall of tall grass and when she looked behind her the flames were getting closer. She had to move forward and ran into the tall grass that was like running through small razor blades as they cut her forearms like hundreds of paper cuts. Occasionally she would see some of the grass catch on fire behind her and now began to wonder if she just walked into a death trap. She had to go backwards into it as she was bleeding heavily from her arms and some on her face. She would occasionally stumble and land on her back and get entangled in it. Finally she emerged at what looks like a small river, but just as she was making her way to water so were other animals including bobcats. She needed to cross as the grass was engulfing in fire. She could see alligator heads piercing the water line, but they say it's not the alligator you see, its the one you don't see. She had to make a swim for it and dive into the alligator infested water, she decided to swim underneath the surface so she did not look like a turtle or something small. She never felt that much fear in her life as she swam the short distance. She emerged on the other side and put her hands on her knees to catch her breath while her body shook. The cuts stung and her lungs still hurt from the massive amount of smoke she inhaled earlier. She immediately moved away from the water's edge and was greeted by a bobcat that was more interested in getting away from the fire then her. It made a small growl and then ran off into the other trees. Once she felt she was far enough from the water she turned around and ran her hand over her wet hair as she got a look of the devastation the Forest fire caused. All she could think about was her sisters and hoped they made it out, or to water. Once she had enough strength, she would head back and look for them. All she could do now was wait until the fire subsided.

To be continued...


	6. Alone

A/N:

Thank you for the reviews.

Chapter 6

Alone

"Help!" Paige yelled as night was coming and she was still firmly stuck in the mud that was up to her chin. Her arms were resting on top of the thick soup. She was afraid to move, afraid to be sucked deeper into the swamps depths. She was extremely thirsty and the thought of drinking the water that was stagnant on top of the mud almost made her sick and probably would if she drank it. "Help!" she yelled again but got no response. The fire that once raged through the forest was now done and small amounts of smoke and hot embers were left. The sun was setting and new fears would arise as many things came out to hunt in the shadows. "What if they are hurt or dead?" she asks herself as she watched the sun disappear over the horizon.

Piper was unconscious and her arm dangled from the tree she found refuge in before her eyes closed. The cut on her finger was dripping small amounts of blood into the water beneath her. She opened her eyes slowly and everything was fuzzy as her stomach was not happy with her awakening. She took in a deep breath while using her other hand to gently pushed her self up and then almost fell into the murky water but managed to stop that event from happening by using her other hand to grab a branch. She grunted as her finger was extremely sore but her head felt worse. She put her hand to the cut just under the hair line that was near her ear and could feel a warm liquid. She pulled it away and focus her eyes as light was fading quickly on the Crimson blood. "Heal," she grunted out and a elder orbed in. She just pointed to her head and he healed her injury. "Are they alive?" she asked while taking in her surroundings.

"Yes but you will need to fine them," he replied.

"What, ok this is done you need to get us back together and we go home," Piper said while her finger still hurt. "And why didn't you heal this?"

"One heal per person remember, Piper you will know how to find them, you just need to focus and let your instincts take over," he replied and before she could say anything else he was gone.

"Ass," she said and noticed how dark it was getting. She was stuck in a tree with no means to make a fire and searching for them at night was a death wish. "Please be ok," she said and looked up into the night sky and could see the white beacon in the distance, but had no idea how long it would take to get to it. "That is were they will go," she said and tried to get comfortable as the swamp took on a whole new life when the sun flees from the sky.

Prue has been trying to make a fire for hours now and even though most of the materials was dry, she could not get it to flame. She looked over the small barely moving water that she crossed earlier and could see more alligators then before. Crossing here would only get her killed she was even afraid to get near the water as she may be a victim of mistaken identity. She could see smoke in the distance the could tell the fire has subsided. She can also see the white beacon and assumed that if they were able, that's where they would be going. She decided to wait till morning and hope that alligators would be gone or she would find another way across. She sat down and leaned against a tree and pulled her knees in close to her chest as new sounds filled the air. Some she recognizes as owl's but others seemed like a horror movie and even the ground was moving as spiders and other insects were on the hunt. Sleep was not going to be easy or come at all. Here she was the most powerful witch in the world but without her powers she was at the mercy of the most powerful force, nature.

Phoebe stopped running and had no idea how long she's been running for. She could tell it was getting dark and needed to start a fire and maybe try to find her sisters. After resting for a moment and feeling extreme dehydration with a massive headache and no energy, she started the task of building a fire. She gathered starter material and felt a little ironic creating something she just ran from, but fire was life when trying to survive at least that's what her guide told her. It would protector her from any animals that are out hunting and give her the ability to boil water and cook food, fire was everything. It would also serve as a beacon if any of her sisters were close they might be able to see the flame. By the time she gathered what she needed it was pitch black and she had to work in the dark. She still had her striker and after about an hour managed to get her fire going. She smiled and felt a huge sense of relief as the forest around her was taking out of the darkness and given the orange light that came from the flames. She sat down and piled on some more wood but knew it would not be enough to get her through the night. She checked her canteen and had only a few drops of water left and although she was dying of thirst, she decided to save it for the morning. "Prue!" she yelled and closed her eyes in hopes to hear a response back, but got nothing but the noises of the swamp. She was on dry land at least, but now she wanted water to boil. This was the first time they have ever been separated, not even in the Amazon did that happen and now she was alone until she found them. "The beacon," she said as she saw it in the sky and marked its direction." That's where they'll go," she said and got near the fire to settle in for a long night.

Prue could feel a beam of sunlight hit her face and when she tried to move, her neck protested the action by giving her a sharp pain as it was stiff from being in a position all night. She rubbed the back of her neck to get out the kinks and stood up to stretch out her body. Day was a welcome sight but she was still very tired, thirsty and hungry. She needed a fire tp boil any water but considering the trouble she had earlier, she knew it may be better to find another resource or find one of her sisters. She grabbed her canteen and a long stick she has been using to walk with as well as a weapon if needed and started looking for another way to cross the alligator infected water. She had to stop on occasion as an alligator would be warning its body with its mouth agape on the tall grass. Sometimes she could hear them running off when she got close and into the water. "Piper, Phoebe, Paige!" she yelled and stopped to wait for a response but got nothing. "Where are you guys?" she said and continued to walk forward as the heat was already building and the humidity.

Phoebe stayed awake for the most part and was relieved to see the sunrise. She took the last few drops of water from her canteen but knew she needed more. She dusted herself off and looked at the marker she make the night before. She put the fire out has starting another forest fire would not be a good idea. Everything around her had some scars from the fire on it, from the trees to the ground that seemed much darker than before. There was almost a fog but it was leftover smoke that still filled the air. She was heading to the beacon and began the long walk into the Everglades.

Piper stepped out of the tree and into murky water and immediately hated the sensation. She wrapped her finger with some of her shirt she tore off to keep it clean, but it hurt like hell regardless. With her good hand she pulled out her machete and adjusted her canteen that was empty. She was surrounded by water but none of that she could drink until she could get a fire going. She looked around looking for land and because of the fire she can actually see a clearing ahead of her. She decided to find land first and make a fire if she could. "I really should have went on the dam survival trip with Phoebe and Paige. Something tells me there doing much better," she said and began to trudge through the knee-high water. She kept an eye out for bubbles and would stay away from anything slithering in the water as it was probably a water moccasin. She would see crawdads swimming and would grab a few for later and put them in her canteen if they fit.

"Prue, Piper, Phoebe!" Paige's horse voice yelled. She was covered in mud and bug bites that attacked her last night. She had no choice but to drink a little water as dehydration was making her sick. She was thankful almost delirious to see the sun and now had to find a way out of the mud. She looked around her for something she can use as leverage. She tried to turn her head but the rest of her body seem to be firmly encased and she could not move it very far. "Fuck," she said as nothing was reachable or even visible. Her body was shivering as the cool night made the mud even colder and close to hyperthermia. The smoke made visibility difficult to see in the distance and although she was thankful the fire was over, she was now in a much desperate situation. She could not continue to drink the water as it would make her sick but if she moved she could potentially get sucked further in and drowned. She tried orb over and over but because of their powers being blocked she was not going anywhere soon. "Dammit just let me do it once," she yelled while looking up. But no matter how much she tried or asks, she could not complete something that over the years has become natural. She stopped moving as a Python slithered past her and seemed to go on forever. Its body was the size of her head but fortunately either did not notice her or was not quite hungry enough yet. She could not get over the amount of insects that moved with ease on the mud surface even the Python glided on it. She could feel its massive body weight go over her arm as it headed off either to deeper water or the burnt forests behind her. Once she felt it was gone she struggled to get her arm above the mud line again. Her energy was zapped and she was now truly starting to panic," Help!" she yelled and closed her eyes praying that someone would answer her.

Piper has been walking for a few hours and finally her feet hit dry land. She went to her knees as all she wanted to do was sleep but she needed water and that ment a fire. She gritted her teeth and pushed herself up to start the process, but unfortunately knew very little on how to start a fire as Phoebe was the one who did it in the Amazon most of the time. She looked for anything dry and look for the moss that hang off the trees but the fire took care of burning it completely. She found some tree bark that was blacked but it crumble in her hands and she had no idea of how to even start. After an hour she gathered what she thought would be a good starter. It was mostly dry grass that seemed to miss the assault of the flames and after gathering some twigs and some bigger branches, she pulled out her striker from her pocket. Her left hand was fairly useless as any pressure on her finger sent sharp pains through her body. She was weak and dehydrated she also felt like a cold was coming on. She got on her knees and tried to stop her hands from shaking as the lack of water and food were giving her the shakes. She began to use the striker and the small sparks would fly in all directions," Dammit," she said in frustration as she knew this was not the correct way. The sparks needed to be focused in one direction so she had to put pressure on her other hand and just deal with pain as she tried again. Occasionally she would see smoke than fill hopeful but then it would disappear into nothing. The sweat from her brow did not make it any easier as it would sometimes drip onto the dry grass. She looked up at the sky that was clear as the sun was almost at its peak. She needed to take a break and sat down near a log. She felt defeated and even tried to use her exploding power to start the fire, but nothing happened. She then unwrapped her finger to redress the wound. The cut was about 3 inches in length on the side of her finger and was extremely red around it, she could even see some white around the scar that was trying to form. "Great its infected," she said and gave a slight squeeze in a attempt to get some out. She screamed as some puss came out near the ends it even smelled like almonds. "Oh god," she said and dry heaved. She now needed the fire more than anything as she could use the water to clean the wound and rehydrate. After she got her composure back she tried again. The infection was causing the fever and making her feel weak and slow to react to anything that requires the tenderness of fire takes to start. After another hour she got her fire and then filled her canteen with water. She put it near the fire and let it boil which took 10 minutes. She then let it cool and moment it touched her lips she could feel a small energy burst. She enjoyed the sensation and looked at the crawdads she had in a pile and got them ready to eat.

Prue found a shallower part of the small stream or river she went a crossed the day before. She stood for over 30 minutes looking for any signs of alligators before taking the plunge. It was only about waist high but it felt like an ocean as every second in the water put her in more danger. But when she got to the other end she filled her canteen and started heading back to the burnt forest she ran from. Along the way she looked for any kind of fire starter but like Piper she was not sure what to use and just look for anything extremely dry. She was heading in the direction of the white beacon or at least she hoped as it was not visible during the day," Piper, Phoebe, Paige!" she yelled and like the others waited for a response but got nothing. She could hear something moving in the waist high grass and tried to pinpoint where was coming from as it could be an alligator. She then saw exactly what it was and she got her spear ready as it was a wild pig. It did not seem to notice her and she held her breath and took aim. With all her might she tossed the spear at the wild pig and make contact. It squealed loudly and began to run off with the projectile firmly implanted in its side. Prue ran after it and was able to catch up to the injured pig but she had to be careful as it could still hurt her. She kept it in front of her moving side to side until it finally collapsed, she then took her machete and stabbed it in the heart. "Sorry," she said as she felt for the piggy but it was food and she was starving. Unfortunately she did not know how to cut or even skin it, but would do her best. She needed to get someplace more stable in order to make a fire and cook her kill. She dragged a bloody carcass to the tree line and took a moment to rest before looking for materials to start a fire. Surviving as a group was far superior then surviving alone. Any time you took time to rest meant time taken away from creating a fire, finding water or building a shelter.

"How the hell did people do this along time ago," she said and used her remaining energy to get a fire going. It took her over three hours just to do that and the day was almost gone. She felt like she made no headway at all as now all she wanted to do was eat, drink and sleep. "Just a few minutes," she said and closed her eyes after she filled her belly with what she could get off the pig. There was a lot left over as she was not sure how to skin it and just went for the meaty parts. She felt safer during the day and now that she had a fire, she herself relax a little. But if she slept too long the fire go out and she would be right back where she started.

To be continued...


	7. The search

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews.

Chapter 7

The search

Paige opened her eyes and the mud that covered her face made her feel like she was wearing small weights on her eyelids. It was morning now and she was still firmly stuck in bug infested, sulfur smelling mud. Her voice was hoarse and her throat extremely dry that made swallowing even the smallest amount of saliva sting on its way down. She looked up at the rising sun it was a small amount of relief as it brought heat with it. She had no idea how long she's been asleep but wished she still was as her body made it very clear that it was not liking the situation. She could feel things crawling around on her skin, on her legs, her back and everywhere in between. They would bite or drink what was left of her. "Please help," she whispered as yelling was too much effort.

Prue slept very little as keeping the fire alive was difficult alone. She looked at the mark she made earlier where the white Beacon was and gathered her few things and headed off. Her arms were covered in cuts from the tall grass as she made her way into the swamp again to head to the Beacon and look for any signs of her sisters.

Phoebe has been walking for a few hours as sleep was almost impossible to come by. Sleeping in the swamp at night by yourself, reminded her of when she was a kid and the night like would go out. The fear of something lurking in the shadows and her only defense was the blanket she put over her head. She too was heading for the Beacon and would periodically yell for any of them as the sun lit up the area. She stopped as something crossed her path. It looked like a dinosaur or something she'd only seen in horror movies. Its long tongue shot out like a snake but this was more like a 6 foot lizard. The thought of killing it and having it for breakfast crossed her mind, but she had no idea what it was. "This is Florida for gods sake, not the Amazon or some other far-off place, retire here my ass," she said and waited for it to pass before continuing.

Piper's head was leaned back as she fell asleep using a fallen tree as a back rest and her head was resting slightly over the curve of it. She cringed as this was not the best position for it to be in. She rubbed the back of her neck as the pain from her finger began to kick in full force. She was afraid to even look at it while the fire needed much attention. She felt nauseated and extremely weak as she put some wood on the fire to get it back up and going again. The thought of trudging through swamp or any kind of terrain was just to much at the moment. She drank what she had left of the water but it did little to take care of the overall problem. She took the wrapping off her finger and her heart sank as it seemed worse than before. She knew that if she did not take care of it now, the infection would work its way up.

Prue was walking and all seem to blend together as she made her way to the white Beacon that was no longer in the sky and hope she was going the right way. She made it to a clearing just outside of the swamp and looked at the sun shining on her and was not paying attention to where she was walking. She tripped over something and landed face first into mud. "Dammit," she said as she recognized the sinking sensation, but luckily she was on her belly and was sable to get leverage. A voice broke through her grunting.

"Hay watch where you are walking," Paige's raspy voice got out as she was losing consciousness.

Prue turned around to see her baby sister covered in mud up to her neck. "Paige, oh god," she said and crawled over to her. She was filled with both relief and worry as she saw the condition she was in. "Paige are you ok?" Prue cried as she kissed her head over and over again.

"No," Paige half replied as she was too weak to do much of anything.

"Its ok, I will get you out," Prue said and maneuvered herself to get behind Paige. The ground was solid and she could get some leverage. "Ok Paige I am going to pull you out," she said and put her arms under hers and began to pull. It did not take long to figure out that suction was a major issue. Paige said nothing as she could feel her sister try to pull her free. "Come on dammit," Prue said through her teeth as she could feel a little give and Paige slowly was coming out of the mud. It took over 20 minutes to free her sister and once on dry land, she tried to clean off the dried mud that was stuck to her sisters face. "Paige talk to me," she said but Paige was so dehydrated and exhausted, that opening her mouth was too much effort. Prue pulled out her canteen and lifted Paige's head to drink. The clean wet water seeped slowly into a parched mouth and Paige seem to come to life as her shaking hands grabbed the canteen. "Slowly sweetie," Prue softly said while moving the mud encased string of hair away from her face. Prue could see the numerous bite marks on Paige's hands and on her face. "I will make a fire and get you cleaned up," Prue said as Paige kept her eyes closed and let her oldest sister take care of her.

Phoebe stood near the water extremely hesitant to step into it. She hated walking through the swamp especially by herself after her last experience of falling through and almost drowning. But from what she could tell there was no way around and she needed to get to the Beacon. She took a deep breath and stepped into the mossy covered water. It was impossible to see anything underneath it from a distance and it almost looked like pristine grass. She looked for bubbles or any other signs of movement just under the surface. She was hot and running out of water quickly as she used a stick to poke in front of her searching for any holes. She even pulled out her machete just in case something decided to make her a meal. She felt a sharp pain in her leg and then felt something wrap around it. She tried to see what took hold of her and it did not take long to know what it was. A large python about 15 feet was wrapping itself around her and pulled her under. The machete was now against her chest as she held her breath while it squeezed. She used the machete to cut its massive body that was the size of her leg and it let go as it to felt a sharp pain. She managed to come up for air and take a breath before the weight of the Python dragged her back under. Even though it no longer had its razor-sharp teeth Into her leg, the rest of its body was wrapped around her. She had to cut more off to be able to get air again. The struggle seemed epic and happened extremely fast but not fast enough for her as every moment under the water was terrifying. Finally she managed to cut through enough to get above the surface and make her way back to land. She crawled onto the hard surface as her leg was feeling the result of hundreds of teeth. "Dammit!" she yelled while continuing to crawl away, wanting to get as far away as possible from the water's edge. Once she felt she was clear, she sat there for a few minutes as her entire body shook. She then took off her pants to examine the damage. On the outer part of her thigh, there were teeth marks and even a large cut that probably needed stitches in order to close. She used what was left of her water to clean the wound and then uses some of her shirt to wrap it. She needed a fire badly, not just to purify water but to keep the cut clean from infection. She stood up and used a branch she found as a walking stick and decided to stay on land for the time being.

Piper was staring into space as she looked at the fire. She wasn't hungry mostly because her stomach was so upset and she knew what she needed to do in order to save herself. She has already called out to the elders but she has used her one heal and wished she saved it for this. She pulled out her machete and ran her hand on its sharp edge hoping it was sharp enough. She knew that it would need to be cauterize in order to stop the bleeding and that meant a hot fire. " I better get this back," she said while wiping a few tears away knowing what was coming. There were other provisions she would need to make. Plenty of water and plenty of wood to keep the fire going. Hunting for food was going to need to wait as her injured finger made every task extremely painful and difficult. Piper got a area ready for her to pass out on that was near the fire but not close enough to burn her. It took over an hour to get everything prepared, but nothing can prepare anyone for cutting off a body part. She put her hand on the fallen tree and took her machete and placed it under her other fingers and was going to do a rocking motion in order to have a clean cut. Her mouth was filling with saliva as the need to vomit was already starting. She has been in pain before and after giving birth to three children her tolerance was much higher but it was the whole active of it all that would make anyone hesitant. Her heart was racing and her hand was shaking as she felt the blade on her skin. With a loud yell she forced a large part of the machete down and hard near the knuckle of her index finger. She screamed as the pain was much more than she expected and blood was coming out quickly. She did manage to cut it off cleanly and fell to her knees holding her hand close to her stomach. She then made her way to the fire and readied herself for even more. She put her wound into the flame and could smell burning flesh and the sizzling sound that normally came with cooking meat. After it was done she ran some clean water over it and wrapped it the best she could. She then fell onto her back and let her eyes close into darkness.

Prue propped Paige up against a tree and went to making a fire. "Your ok Paige its going to be ok now,"Prue said while rushing to get it going. She gathered the necessary materials and started the long task of getting it to ignite. Paige was still completely covered in dried mud and she looked like a stone statue against a tree and was barely moving. Once the fire was going, Prue went and got some water that was close by and started to clean off her sister. She also needed to find food as Paige has been without for almost 2 days. She used Paige's canteen to boil water after cleaning it off and used hers to boil water to drink. Paige had small red bumps all over her skin that was not covered by clothing. She had no choice but to take off her clothes and try to clean them and get any of the bugs that hitchhiked out. Two hours passed and Paige was still unconscious or sleeping from what she could tell. The day was at least halfway through and again she basically made no headway, but finding a sister was better than getting to the Beacon. Paige was cleaned off and Prue sat next to her and wrapped her arms around her to keep her warm. she still had some meat left over from killing the pig and would give some to her when she woke up.

Phoebe was struggling to walk and fell many times doing such a simple task. Her leg was going slightly numb as the string she used around her upper thigh to stop the bleeding, was also stopping circulation. She stopped and had to loosen it, so she sat down on a tree stump and did what she needed to. At first she thought she was seeing a hallucination when her I said on a blue Beacon that was near the ground and only a few feet from her. "The medical one," she said and smiled as she limped over to it. She maneuvered quickly having to jostle over fallen trees and branches until finally she reached the Beacon. She put her hand on the diamond shaped object and a large medical pack fell out and the Beacon disappeared. It was a large bag and filled with everything anyone would need in the Everglades, including anti-venom for numerous snakes. "Now I find it," she said as she recalled using a heal to save her from a venomous snake bite earlier. She rummage through it and found some sutures for closing wounds. There was alcohol and other antibiotics in the bag as well. She pulled out the sutures and took off her pants so she could clean the wound and close it up. It was not something she was ever trained in doing, but having any kind of open wound out here was dangerous. She started the task of taking care of her injury as the day was giving way to evening.

Paige opened her eyes and her blurred vision slowly began to focus on a dark-haired woman in front of her. She thought she was hallucinating as she squinted and blinked heavily.

"Paige its me Prue are you ok?" Prue asks as she knelt down in front of her.

"Prue is that you?" Paige asks and stretched out her hand to touch flesh and hopefully not air.

"Yes," Prue replied and put her hand on hers and guided it to her face. They both cried as they hugged each other.

"I thought I would never see you or my family again," Paige sobbed.

"We are the charmed ones Paige, we don't die that easily," Prue sobbed as well. "Are you hungry?"

"Hell yes," Paige replied as her stomach was feeling the result of two days without food.

"It's not much, but it will help," Prue said and gave her some of the wild pig she had left over.

Paige looked at the overcooked meat and was afraid to ask. She put it in her mouth and let the juices of the meat fill her senses. "This is good," she said and finished up the small amount. Prue gave her some water and Paige could feel herself come back to life. Her body was extremely sore from all the bug bites and her clothing was still covered in mud even though Prue tried desperately to clean them.

"How did you fine me?" Paige asks.

"I tripped over you," Prue replied.

"At least you didn't step on me, I think it would've pushed me down into the mud," Paige said and giggled.

"Did you fall into that when we ran from the fire?"

"Yeah, how long has it been?" Paige asks.

"Almost 2 days," Prue replied and sat down next to her.

"Did you find the others?" Paige asks.

"No and I have no idea where they are," Prue replied as she drank some water.

"They probably went to the Beacon," Paige said.

"I hope but we will need to wait until nightfall. I lost where it was and I don't want to travel at night if we can help it," Prue said and Paige nodded.

"Thank you for saving me," Paige said and leaned her head onto Prue's shoulder as they got ready for bed.

"Any time sis," Prue said and put some wood on the fire.

Piper opened her eyes and wished she did not as pain rushed from her hand all the up her arm. It felt like she stuck her hand on a hot tray that just came out of the oven. She sat up but immediately had to lay back down as a rush of nausea came over her. She closed her eyes and willed it to go away. It took sometime but it did subside. She sat back up slower this time and grabbed the water she had prepared before she removed her finger. She drank and then just looked around stunned at her surroundings, she was in the middle of nowhere and had no idea if her sisters were okay or not. All she could think about was her children, her husband and the life she wanted desperately to get back too. The halliwell were not easily dismissed and never gave up on anything. It was just a finger, she could still walk and could still do some task. She needed to find one of them and get some food in her belly or she would die. She was not about to give them that satisfaction. She stood up and even though night was coming she decided to do some hunting and headed towards the white Beacon. She tore off her pant leg using her machete to make the cut and made a torch with the remaining fire that luckily stayed mostly let while she was unconscious. Her hair was a tangled mess her clothes were soaked with sweat and blood and she was covered with dirt and mosquito bites. She looked up to the night sky and could see the white Beacon but also could see the red one to her right. She thought maybe one of them would be there as it was closer to her but the thought of leaving them alone was a decision she just might have to make. She headed off into the direction of the red Beacon as night became her company and mostly unwelcome.

Phoebe finished making a new fire and was like a kid in a candy store as she opened up new packages. Some were M.R.E ready-to-eat meals and a thermal blanket. The nights seem to be a little chilly but with the fire was manageable. She ate one of the meals and could not believe how good it tasted as her stomach has been empty for over a day. There were also some small packets of clean water. There was also morphing and other painkillers in the bag. She took some of the pills as her leg was hurting from the cut and the stitches. She felt as though she hit the jackpot and even smiled a bit as the pills kick in. The fire lit up the area around her and she looked up and saw the Beacon. It was closer than before but it will have to wait until daylight came. She glanced over and saw something odd in the bag, she pulled it out and it was a flare gun. She put in one of the flares and pointed it up in the air towards the direction of the water. The last thing she wanted to do was catch the woods on fire.

Piper made it to the red Beacon and went to her knees as exhaustion and the fact she found nothing to eat in over three hours of walking was finally taking its toll. She looked at it and wanted to be home, wanted to hold her children, wanted to be healed, but all of that would come with a cost of leaving her sisters behind. She stretched out her shaking hand as her heart felt like it was going to break, just before she touched, there was a red flash in the sky. "Flare," she said and stood up feeling a burst of hope. "Phoebe," she whispered as she felt her presence. She changed direction and ran towards where she believed the fire was fired from.

Prue was awake taking the first shift as Paige was sleeping. She saw the same red flash in the sky and although was distant it was something. "Paige wake up," she said and shook her baby sister who reluctantly opened her eyes.

"What?"

"Phoebe its Phoebe I know it," Prue said and pointed to the sky as the flare was dissipating. They both got up and ran in the direction of the flare.

Phoebe fired another one hoping someone would see it as the pills were making her extremely tired and sleepy. She saw the flare go up and dissipate and felt the need to sleep as she waited for someone to yell or some noises to approach. Her eyes closed as she could no longer keep them open and then what felt like just a few seconds was actually a few hours. Her fire was much lower and was about to go out. She rushed to get it lit again and as the flame rose so did the light. She could hear growling and even feel hot breath on her face. She looked up from the fire and saw large teeth a few feet from her. It was the black bear that ran past them two days ago and either the flare or the fire, or the smell of food brought it right to her. She tried to remember what she learned when she went on that survival trip, but for some reason her mind went blank. She was afraid to move as the fire was the only thing that separated them. She grabbed a branch that was in the flame and was ready to use it. The bear stood on its back legs and was ready to come down on her. She crawled backwards and took the branch with her as she heard another noise that was not animal. It was a piercing yell that made the bear change its focus. Phoebe grabbed the flare gun and fired it so she could see more of what was going on and hopefully scare the bear away. The sky lit up and she could see a silhouette of a woman standing a few feet from them holding a machete. She screamed again, not out of fear but more of anger and the bear was not certain what to do. It looked from her to the other and then backed away into the darkness of the woods. Phoebe let out the breath she was holding and then limped over to the woman who was standing there. It took her some time to make out the features as the person's hair was covering most of her face and her clothes were tattered. She moved some hair out of the woman's face and then hugged her.

"Piper," she cried.

"Phoebe," Piper's cracked voice said back. Phoebe pulled away and looked her over. She could tell that her sister was not in the best shape. Besides being covered with dirt and grime she could see a dirty covering on her hand.

"Come on sweetie," Phoebe said and took her over to the fire. She sat her down and used the light of the flame to look at her wound. "I found the medical Beacon so we can cleaned this up, ok," she said and gasped when she saw that Piper was missing a finger. "Oh god, what happened?" she asks but Piper just collapsed on her back and was out cold.

To be continued...


	8. Reunion

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews.

Chapter 8

Reunion

Phoebe leaned Piper against the fallen tree so she could check her vitals and clean her up. The first thing she did was look at her major injury of the missing finger. She unwrapped the dirty bandages and could see a black coating on the stump that needed to be cleaned. She took advantage of Piper being unconscious and used the medical supplies to clean and dressed the wound. She then put some water to Piper's cracked lips and slowly poured a small amount into her mouth. "Here you go, just a little," she said as Piper's mechanical reaction was to swallow. She used water that she boiled and let it cool before using it to clean off the dirt and grime on her face. "Your hair is a mess," Phoebe said as she stroked her hair. The yellowish glow of the fire gave some light and was also a beacon to her other sisters that were trying to make their way through the dark swamp.

"Come on Paige just a little longer," Prue said while holding onto her arm that was around her neck. Paige was like moving a concrete filled manikin as she walked towards the light in the distance. They have been walking for over five hours and it was slow going as they had to stop on occasion to drink and rest. The light from the flare has long since subsided but the glow of the fire seemed to be like glow-in-the-dark paint in a pitch black room. They were close now and she could almost smell the ash as she pulled Paige along.

Phoebe finished cleaning her older sister up and could hear noises in the darkness. She immediately thought the bear has returned for its meal and grabbed her machete along with the torch. She moved around the area trying to make out what lingered behind trees. She then saw two people emerge and her heart skipped a beat as it could only have been Prue and Paige.

"Prue!" she yelled and tossed the torch back onto the fire.

"Phoebe," Prue almost cried seeing her younger sister. They hugged each other and Phoebe helped sat Paige down next to Piper.

"Is she ok?" Phoebe asks noticing that Paige was in a daze for the most part.

"Don't know yet, she was stuck in mud up to her neck for almost 2 days, I think she went a little delirious," Prue replied.

"Or hilarious," Paige said and laughed awkwardly as she looked at Piper who was still unconscious. "She looks worse than me."

"Here I have water and food," Phoebe said and gathered some as Prue sat down next to her other sisters.

"Thank God you use the flare gun, we never would have found you," Prue said as Phoebe gave her some of the clean water.

"Piper must have saw it too because she just showed up right before you did," Phoebe said and gave Paige some water. "Paige are you hungry?"

"No I just want to sleep," Paige replied and leaned her head onto Piper's shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Let them rest we will try to get them fixed up in the morning," Prue said as she drank down her water and ate some of the food that Phoebe took out of the medical bag. "By the way good find," she said.

Phoebe put the other thermal blanket around Paige and then laid next to Prue for the night. They would take turns keeping an eye on the fire as well as the bear that may show up again. Paige was the first awake and she has never felt so disgusting in her life. The sun gave light to her predicament as she looked at her arms that were covered in bug bites. She immediately started itching as Piper awoke and saw her baby sister scratching away.

"Paige?" Piper asks not sure if she was dreaming.

"I feel like a pincushion," Paige replied and Piper could feel the pain of her finger kick in. she grunted silently and held her injured hand as she swallowed the extra saliva that was building.

"What happened to you?" Paige asks as she was looking through the bag for some kind of ointment.

"Oh just had to cut off my finger," Piper replied like she bruised a knee instead of having to remove the appendage.

"That sounds like fun," Paige said while continuing to rummage through the bag as she was still trying to come to grasp with reality. Piper was in too much pain to care about the comment as Phoebe woke up with Prue.

"Paige what are you doing?" Prue asks while Paige was scratching fiercely and almost in a panic.

"I can't stop itching," Paige replied and Prue put her hand to her sisters arm.

"Paige I will look for something ok, just try to relax," Prue said as she could see the fear or confusion in her sister's face. Phoebe took out some of the pain pills she used for her leg and went over to Piper.

"Here, these will help but you need to eat something first," Phoebe said and gave Piper some crackers.

"Phoebe I don't know if I can keep anything down," Piper said while her shaking hand took a few crackers from her sister.

"Just try ok, these pills will stop the pain," Phoebe said and got her some water to help wash down the salty treat. Piper nodded and took small bites and struggled to swallow. She wanted to pills badly and forced down a few crackers she had to eat. She drank the water as she took the pills and now it was a waiting game for them to kick in. Prue found some kind of ointment for poison ivy and put it on Paige's arms and face. The cooling effect was immediate and the excessive itching stopped. Paige leaned back against the tree enjoying the relief.

"What happened to her hand?" Prue asks while looking over at Piper.

"Her finger got infected and she had to cut it off," Phoebe replied.

"Wait why didn't she use her heal?"

"I don't know maybe something else happened," Phoebe replied as the drugs were working for Piper and wearing off for Phoebe. Prue could see her limp as she got up.

"And what happened to you?" Prue asks.

"Just a giant python, what is it with this place its like the dumping ground for every prehistoric or giant size creature," Phoebe replied.

"Are you ok?" Prue asks as she started to look at her leg.

"Fine, I took care of it but my stitching may need some work," Phoebe replied and slapped her sisters hand away." Don't touch it."

"Considering what Piper had to do because of infection, I think I should look at it," Prue said.

"You need to take care of your arms Prue, it looks like you had way too much fun with a razor," Phoebe said as she could see the many small cuts on her sisters arms.

"Yeah your right," Prue said and looked through the medical bag and found some antibiotics along with alcohol cleaning pads. She took the pills and began using the pads and feeling the sting of alcohol.

"When do you think they'll be ready?" Phoebe asks while checking her wound as the thought of having to cut off her leg was not something she wanted to deal with.

Prue looked over at her two sisters, one had a goofy smile on her face because of the pills and the other one was just staring into space. "Oh I think a few days," she replied and could not help but laugh a little at Piper's expression.

"She will get that back right?" Phoebe asks referring to Piper's finger.

"I would think so considering that's the one she uses when she yells at us," Prue replied as Piper liked to make her point with her hands just as much as her voice.

They tended to their wounds and they need to rest as the day went on. They were together again but two were out of commission for at least a day or two as they recovered. The plan was simple, get up enough strength and bring what they could and make it to the white beacon.

To be continued..


	9. No more easy way

A/N:

Thank you for the reviews.

Chapter 9

No more easy way

Piper opened her weary eyes and could see something scurrying on the ground next to her. It was a crawdad with something in its claws that looked like sausage. The morning light created spots on the ground that the little critter would pass through them and back into the shadows of the trees. She reached down with her good hand and grabbed it by its tail as Phoebe was limping back from gathering water. She stopped when she saw Piper in wonderment at what the crustacean had between his pincers.

"Piper what is that?" Phoebe asks while putting the cup of water on the fire.

"It has my finger," Piper replied as though it was commonplace. Phoebe walked over to her trying not to vomit and took the crawdad out of her hand and tossed it to the side.

"Ok we'll just pretend we did not see that," Phoebe said and patted her on top of the head as Paige shot up from her sleep breathing rapidly. "Paige are you ok?"

"I'm not in mud," Paige said while looking at her surroundings.

"Yeah honey your not in mud," Phoebe said and Prue also began to rise.

Paige looked over at Piper who was still half asleep. "I will never get a mud bath again," she said.

"Crawdad had my finger," Piper said and for some reason began to giggle.

"That sounds like a start of a really bad joke," Paige said and began to stretch her body.

"I'm hoping this whole place is going to be a really bad joke soon," Prue said as she looked at Piper's hand that was missing a digit. "You ok?"

"It hurts like hell and now I can't pick my nose properly, but other than that I'm peachy," Piper replied while trying to get more comfortable.

"Do you think you guys could walk a little today?" Prue asks.

"Yeah but can we avoid water?" Paige replied.

"Definitely," Prue answered as she got up to get some water for them. Phoebe took a seat to let her leg rest for a moment.

They all drink the water that was finally boiled and ready for consumption as spots on the ground between light and dark created by the sun gave them brief moments shade and then brief moments of heat. They moved slow as their energy was low do to the lack of calories and injuries. Phoebe took what she could from the medical pack and Prue covered the many cuts on her arms that she could. Piper's hand was wrapped with fresh cloth but the pain would come in spurts. It felt like someone took a pair of pliers and squeezed your finger until it just snapped off. At times she felt like she was going to vomit and had to stop and swallowed hard. Paige was starting to come back to reality but anytime she saw a mud puddle she would avoid it like a poisonous snake. They came to a opening that revealed a river and decided to take a break before attempting the dark water crossing. Prue helped Piper sit and leaned her against a tree as the others did the same. They did not say much as they were trying to get their breath back from a long walk.

"This is bull shit," Phoebe's angry voice broke the silence.

"What?" Piper asks.

"All of this, I mean are we stupid or something because apparently we did not learn the lesson the first time," Phoebe replied.

"Phoebe," Prue said as her sister was about to go into a rant.

"No Prue lets face it we are not as close as we used to be," Phoebe continued before her oldest sister could cut her off.

"Yeah we all have families and lives, you can't believe that all us can fit under one roof," Piper jumped in.

"No but we can talk more then once a week," Phoebe said.

"We do talk more then that," Paige added.

"Only when there's a demon attack. Ok when the fire started we all ran in different directions it's like for a brief moment it was fend for yourself," Phoebe said with her hands on her hips.

"That's because there was a lot of fire and if we would've taken the time to try to join up we all would have been dead," Prue said in defense of her actions.

"We almost were anyway, Paige was stuck in mud for two days, Piper had to cut off her finger I had to fight a Python and almost lost," Phoebe said trying to fight back tears.

"We found each other and that's all that matters," Piper said while looking down at her hand and recalled the red beacon and how close she was to touching it.

Phoebe shook her head side to side as her family kept defending their actions or lack thereof. "You don't get it, maybe we have drifted too far apart and its not fixable. We always take the easy way out we looked for the white beacon instead of finding civilization and letting them determine whether or not we are ready to go home," Phoebe said and turned away from them.

In some ways she was right they always went for the Beacon maybe they were not ready to hear the truth, maybe they were just too far apart. "So what they will keep us from our families in till we get along, Phoebe they can't do that and its not like I don't love you guys, because I do and I would give my life for any if you and I know you all would do the same," Paige said and Piper bit her lower lip as shame filled her.

"I almost touched the red beacon," Piper said as tears began to flow.

"What?" Prue asks.

"I saw it and I almost left you guys here," Piper replied while lowering her head.

"Piper you just lost your finger so I'm sure you were not thinking clearly," Prue said as the news was unsettling as this was something she never would expect from Piper.

"No I was clear, I was done I was selfish," Piper said and used her good hand to wipe her dirt covered face.

"I think if anyone would have came across it before you, they would then same," Paige said in hopes to ease the pain she could see in her sisters face.

"Not everyone, I would have never touched it. The thought of leaving you guys here alone, I couldn't do it." Phoebe said and made no attempts to sooth anyone.

"Bull shit Phoebe any of us would have done it," Prue said while getting angrier by the moment.

"You?" Phoebe asks her oldest sister who has sacrificed so much for them in the past.

"Yes even me," Prue replied but she could not help but feel it was a lie.

"Trust me if I would've known I was going to be stuck in mud I would have pushed it repeatedly," Paige said but no one laughed at the attempted joke.

"So what Phoebe, what the hell do you Mrs. perfect want to do?" Prue asks and was now standing face-to-face with her baby sister.

"Prue stop," Piper said as she hated conflict especially between her sisters.

"No Piper your not going to break this fight up, well Phoebe you lead," Prue said and went back to the tree she was leaning against earlier.

"Is that what you think, that I want to be leader oh no you will never relinquish that Prue," Phoebe said snidely.

"It's all yours, so what do we do?" Prue asks as she tried to keep from punching her.

Phoebe hesitated for a moment and decided that they could not sit there forever," we find civilization let them decide we don't take the easy way out," she replied and Prue shook her head slightly.

"Piper is hurt and so are you, we need to get home so both of you can get healed and Paige can get some therapy," Prue's voice was harder than usual as she began to peel off the bark of the tree behind her, to give something for her hands to do besides lash out.

"Don't use me as a excuse for anything Prue, ok I lost a finger, I will live," Piper said.

"Yeah same here and I don't need therapy, I just need a very long hot shower and a massage," Paige said as she too felt that Prue was using them as a excuse to get out quickly.

Prue could not help but snorts slightly as she felt like they were going to regret not going to the Beacon. "Fine we do it your way, but don't ask me for anything, don't ask how to do something or how to find something, you want to lead then its all yours," Prue said and walked towards the water to sit on a rock.

"Is that why you haven't come to my dinner invites?" Piper asks Phoebe out of the blue.

"What?" Phoebe asks.

"Because of what happened," Piper replied and Prue turned around to face the others as her interest was piqued.

"Now you're going to bring this up now," Phoebe asks.

"I told you I was sorry," Piper said while her lips quivered.

"Actually no you didn't but this family is good at keeping secrets," Phoebe said as her face hardened as she looked at Piper.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Prue asks as she got up from the rock and went back over to them.

"Its nothing," Phoebe replied.

"No Phoebe they need to know," Piper said as she could no longer keep the secret.

"You right we apparently haven't learned our lesson about secrets," Paige added as she hated them.

Piper took in a deep breath while holding her injured hand trying to keep what little was left of her stomach contained. "Leo and I had a epic fight, I thought he was cheating on me with a teacher at magic school. I could smell perfume on him and he was coming home late. When I used a potion to verify my fears, I saw him holding a wamen," Piper said as everyone else was in slight shock except for Phoebe who knew how this story ended. "Before anyone says anything, I know now it was not true, he was comforting her after she lost her father, he just was so used to being a whitelighter that he kept it in confidence," she continued as Phoebe began to cry.

"What does this have to do with Phoebe?" Paige asks.

"I went to the restaurant and got very drunk when Coop came to check on me, I was hurt and angry so to make a very bad story short, I came on to him. I did it out of revenge and when Leo sent Phoebe to check on me because I was not answering my phone, she saw me trying to kiss him," she said and slid down the tree and began to cry," I'm so sorry Phoebe."

"Piper I know why, I mean after everything was explained but it hurt like hell to think that I was about to lose the man I loved, to a sister. It was a huge betrayal of trust, but its over and yes that is why I didn't come to your invitations, I couldn't see you, I could barely look at you." Phoebe said and turned to face her.

"Oh god does Leo know?" Prue asks.

"No I don't have the courage to tell him. Things are better between us now and I know we fight but I always take it to the extreme," Piper replied and used the bottom of her shirt to wipe her face and leaned her head back on the rough bark of the tree.

No one said much of anything as they took in the big secret between two sisters.

"That's why there's been so much tension between you two lately," Prue said.

"Yeah you could say that," Phoebe said and walked over to Piper. She looked into her dark eyes and could see the classiness that tears cause like a glass overflowing with water. "Piper I will forgive you and I do love you so much, but you need to forgive yourself ok," she said and hugged her. Piper rested her head on Phoebe's shoulder and enjoy the embrace from her as she has not had it in over six months.

"Ok guys it seems we do have a lot of issues to work out," Paige said and they all nodded in agreement.

Phoebe relinquished her hold and put her hand to her face and wiped away some of the tears that escaped. "Right, so we follow the river downstream and we should eventually run into civilization. We can work our issues along the way," she said and gave one last look to Prue as she began to walk with the others behind her.

To be continued...


End file.
